By Cue Learning, Apiro Media
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The podcast currently has 137 episodes available.
In Part 2: The Importance of Teaching Comprehension in F–2, Diane Snowball captivates listeners with her invaluable insights on teaching comprehension to Foundation through Year 2 students in Part 2 of this illuminating podcast series. Her wisdom bridges the gap between theory and practice, empowering educators to weave decoding and comprehension seamlessly into their teaching.
The Role of Shared Reading
Diane paints a vivid picture of shared reading (together, all eyes on enlarged text)as a powerful tool for nurturing young readers. She delves into teaching cohesive ties—those linguistic threads that connect ideas in texts—and offers practical strategies, like revisiting pronouns to establish meaning. Through examples such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, she demonstrates how teachers can encourage students to actively engage with texts and illustrations, fostering critical thinking from the very first page.
Inferring: Unlocking Meaning Beyond Words
Through her discussion of Rosie’s Walk and Saturday Mornings, Diane underscores the importance of inference. She highlights how teachers can guide students to combine textual and visual clues, transforming them into confident meaning-makers. These skills, she asserts, are just as crucial for nonfiction as they are for narrative texts.
Integrating Decoding and Comprehension
Diane champions a holistic approach where decoding and comprehension grow in tandem. Shared reading becomes the conduit, combining phonics, vocabulary, and sentence structure with comprehension strategies in authentic contexts. This integrated method enhances literacy and maintains the joy of reading.
A Focus on Quality Texts
Diane emphasises selecting rich, multifaceted texts that offer opportunities for repeated readings. She encourages teachers to harness the power of these texts for decoding, writing, and comprehension instruction, simplifying planning while maximising learning.
A Lifelong Literacy Foundation
By embracing Diane’s practical, intentional methods, educators can set their youngest learners on a path to literacy success. With cohesive teaching strategies, meaningful texts, and a love of learning, the foundation for lifelong readers is built.
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Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In the latest episode of “The Importance of Teaching Comprehension in F-2 – A Conversation with Diane Snowball,” literacy expert Diane Snowball sits down with Phil to explore why comprehension should be the heartbeat of early literacy, especially in an era dominated by phonics and decoding. Diane passionately explains that teaching comprehension is not something to reserve for later; instead, it should be woven into reading instruction from the very first day a child encounters a book.
Diane discusses how comprehension isn’t just about words—it's about engaging young minds in the "who, what, where, and why" of stories, even when they’re just listening. Through read-alouds, children not only hear the words but also experience the deeper mechanics of storytelling. Diane emphasises that read-alouds, like in her example of sharing “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” invite children to explore concepts of character, setting, and make-believe in an accessible way, building a foundation for thoughtful reading as they progress.
As they chat, Diane explains the importance of choosing texts with coherent structures and rich language, helping children develop an ear for narrative flow and language patterns that support comprehension. She talks about the role of varied sentence structures, how listening comprehension aids independent reading, and the vital role that illustrations play in helping young readers visualise and make sense of stories.
Diane’s insights remind us that comprehension is far from a passive skill. It’s a dynamic process involving curiosity, connection-making, and critical thinking. With her strategies and thoughtful approach, Diane empowers educators to prioritise comprehension, guiding children to become not just readers, but engaged, thoughtful participants in the world of stories. For more on Diane's insights and practical tips, tune in to this episode and dive into the show notes for additional resources.
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Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In this podcast episode, Sharon continues to dive into an innovative protocol designed by Dr. Nell Duke and her team, aimed at enhancing literacy instruction for teachers and students alike. Sharon explores how this assessment tool serves as a guide to help teachers track and support students’ growth in reading and writing with a focus on clarity, purpose, and alignment with curriculum standards.
The protocol’s foundation lies in purpose-driven literacy tasks, helping students understand the "why" behind their work. By prompting questions like, “Why am I writing this?” or “Who is this for?”, teachers encourage students to connect personally with reading and writing, fostering a deeper, more meaningful engagement. Sharon discusses how this tool spans all year levels, adapting to age-appropriate curriculum expectations and offering insights into language complexity. For instance, Year 3 students are supported to move beyond phonics, learning varied letter patterns and decoding strategies essential for understanding complex words.
This protocol doesn’t just benefit students; it’s invaluable for teachers at any career stage. Early-career educators gain structured guidance in assessment, while experienced teachers find new insights that validate and enrich their practice. The tool encourages teachers to make intentional observations, providing data to shape class-wide and individualised instructional plans. As Sharon explains, the protocol’s collaborative approach helps schools unify their literacy strategies, fostering reflective practice and shared growth among teaching staff.
Teachers interested in this tool will find resources like printable forms, prompts, and instructional videos on Dr. Nell Duke’s website. Join Sharon as she illustrates how this protocol empowers teachers to teach with purpose, offering a pathway to unlock every student’s full literacy potential.
READ THE BLOG HERE
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In part two of this enlightening series, Sharon Callen dives into a practical conversation about a revolutionary assessment tool designed to aid teachers in observing, understanding, and enhancing student literacy. From initial implementation to on-the-spot teaching moments, Sharon shares the real-world impact this tool has had as she’s modelled its use alongside teachers in classrooms across Australia. Sharon highlights how the tool's flexible structure—covering reading, spelling, and comprehension—offers teachers immediate insights into students' literacy strengths and areas for growth.
Listeners gain a front-row seat as Sharon explains how teachers can narrow their focus to specific elements, such as fluency. She delves into the details of using Tim Rasinski’s multidimensional fluency scale and how it allows teachers to set targeted goals and track progress in real time. Sharon also brings in examples from her own experiences, illustrating the ‘aha’ moments when students begin to comprehend nuanced aspects of reading, like the power of italics for emphasis in storytelling.
The conversation then expands into the tool’s prompting framework for comprehension and composition. Rather than relying on rote recall, Sharon reveals how thoughtfully designed prompts can deepen students' meta-cognitive skills and comprehension. Teachers are encouraged to use prompts that invite students to reflect on what they learned, their responses to texts, and how reading aligns with their personal goals.
With her warmth and depth of expertise, Sharon provides teachers with a clear path for embedding these practices into daily teaching, enabling richer student engagement and empowering educators with actionable data. This episode is packed with practical advice for any educator eager to make a lasting impact in literacy education.
READ THE BLOG HERE
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Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In this episode, Sharon Callen dives into a groundbreaking tool for educators—the "Listening to Reading, Watching While Writing" protocol, developed by literacy experts Nell Duke, Ward, and Klingelhofer. Sharon explores how this informal, formative assessment tool, launched between 2020 and 2023, is reshaping the way teachers assess and support their students' literacy skills in real-time.
Unlike traditional formal assessments, this tool places teachers in the role of a researcher, empowering them to observe, reflect, and teach on the spot. Sharon highlights that the protocol bridges reading and writing in a way that reflects their natural reciprocity, emphasising that what students learn as readers, they apply as writers—and vice versa.
Sharon discusses how this tool doesn’t replace formal assessments, but complements them by guiding educators in their observations during daily instruction. It provides nuanced insights into areas like word identification, comprehension, and vocabulary strategies. By capturing these moments, teachers can make informed, immediate decisions about how to scaffold students’ learning.
The episode underscores the protocol's flexible and evolving nature, inviting teachers to adapt it to their needs. Sharon shares her experiences working with educators to trial the tool, noting its potential to humanise assessment—focusing not just on data collection, but on real-time learning and growth. With this tool, the goal is clear: empowering teachers to make a difference right there, right then, for every student’s reading and writing journey.
Listeners are encouraged to explore the protocol and its resources, readily available for free online, and to see how this innovative approach can transform their teaching practice.
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Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In Blessing the Book: Exploring Picture Books with Sharon Callen – Part 4, listeners are once again invited into the world of children’s literature as Sharon Callen shares her insightful exploration of picture books that captivate the imagination while addressing real-world themes.
In this episode, Sharon highlights how carefully chosen picture books can be powerful tools for teachers, offering both joyful escapism and meaningful engagement with complex topics like grief, resilience, and environmental stewardship.
Sharon dives into a series of picture books that exemplify the magic of storytelling for young readers. From the heartwarming journey in The Garden at the End of the World by Cassy Polimeni and Briony Stewart, which teaches hope through the Global Seed Vault, to the poignant Mizuto and the Wind by Kaye Baillie and Luisa Gioffre-Suzuki, which gently addresses loss and healing, these stories offer profound learning experiences.
She also delves into Eat My Dust, a historical adventure that brings to life the fearless contributions of women to Australia's history.
Sharon explains how each book can be a “mirror” for children to see themselves or a “window” to experience new perspectives. From the lyrical flow of Whisper on the Wind to the thought-provoking themes in Egg by Clare Atkins, she emphasises how these books can inspire deep conversations about community, diversity, and belonging.
Through this engaging and thought-provoking episode, Sharon encourages educators to not just read picture books, but to bless them—inviting students into narratives that spark curiosity, foster emotional growth, and broaden their understanding of the world. The episode underscores the power of stories to connect us all, no matter our age.
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Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In the latest episode of Blessing the Book: Nurturing Readers through Stories, Sharon Callen explores how thoughtfully selected children’s books can transform classrooms and create meaningful connections with young readers. Sharon introduces her concept of “blessing” books—honouring the stories and voices of the authors while guiding students through rich discussions that build empathy, spark imagination, and deepen their understanding of the world around them.
The episode highlights a variety of titles that range from heartfelt explorations of family and grief to exciting tales of adventure and mystery. Each book offers unique classroom connections that encourage students to think critically and creatively.
Whether it’s The Letterbox Tree, a tale of environmental resilience, or The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet, which dives into magic and time travel, Sharon shows how these stories open up new avenues for students to reflect on their own experiences and the world at large.
Sharon’s approach emphasises the power of the read-aloud experience, where teachers can bring books to life simply by sharing them with students. Whether it’s a novel in verse or an adventurous historical fiction, these moments of shared reading allow for deeper exploration of emotions, themes, and the beauty of storytelling.
The episode reinforces how, through books, teachers can foster empathy and curiosity, transforming both their students and classrooms in profound ways. It is a celebration of the magic of literature and its power to nurture readers who think critically, connect deeply, and engage joyfully with the written word.
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Books:
Podcast:
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In this episode of Blessing the Book: A Framework for Building Student Engagement, Sharon Callen explores actionable strategies to ignite a passion for reading in the classroom. Drawing from Linda Gambrell’s Rules of Engagement, Sharon emphasises the importance of creating opportunities for sustained reading, offering choice, and encouraging social interaction around texts. The concept of "blessing the book" is a key strategy for guiding striving readers toward accessible and engaging texts, fostering ownership in their choices.
Sharon introduces independent reading time as an essential practice for cultivating sustained engagement, urging teachers to make this time intentional and focused on building students' relationships with their books. She shares insights on helping students tackle appropriately challenging books, ensuring growth without overwhelming them.
The podcast also highlights tools like the Engagement Inventory, adapted from Jennifer Serravallo, to track students’ focus during reading sessions, revealing patterns of engagement and disengagement. This data-driven approach informs tailored strategies to help students stay engaged.
Listeners gain valuable classroom tips, from implementing peer discussions after reading to incorporating reading logs that encourage reflection and build agency. Sharon concludes by reminding teachers that engagement doesn’t happen by accident—it is nurtured through intentional, supportive practices. By implementing these strategies, teachers can help students not only improve their reading skills but develop a lasting love for reading, empowering them to take ownership of their learning.
TEACHIFIC RESOURCES
TEACHER’S TOOLKIT PODCASTS
JENNIFER SERRAVALLO
TEXTS (AMAZON)
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Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In this episode of Blessing the Book, host Phil sits down with Sharon Callen to explore the power of professional collaboration, reflective teaching practices, and how intentional planning can transform literacy classrooms. Sharon, an experienced educator, shares her insights from working with schools across Australia, highlighting the importance of teacher agency in driving student success.
The conversation begins with Sharon discussing her work with teachers, emphasising the importance of noticing patterns in the classroom to spark inquiry and drive improvement. She gives a compelling example of a school where students could decode text but weren’t choosing to read. This observation led teachers to collaboratively explore strategies to engage students more deeply in their reading journeys.
Sharon introduces the concept of “Blessing the Book,” a term coined by renowned literacy researcher Linda Gambrell. She explains how this idea focuses on motivating students to read by making books relevant and engaging for them. Sharon encourages teachers to create an environment where books are valued and reading becomes a meaningful, intrinsic activity for students.
Throughout the podcast, Sharon emphasises the importance of intentional planning and reflective practice. She shares stories of working alongside teachers to map out literacy strategies tailored to their students’ needs, with each step driven by thoughtful consideration and professional knowledge.
This episode is a call to action for teachers to reflect on their classroom practices and consider how they can bless the book for their students, fostering a love of reading that goes beyond school tasks and becomes a lifelong joy. Stay tuned for part two, where Sharon dives deeper into practical strategies to bring this concept to life.
TEACHIFIC RESOURCES
PODCASTS (TEACHER'S TOOLKIT FOR LITERACY)
TEXTS (AMAZON)
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected]
In the second part of the podcast with Lisa Burman, the discussion centres on the concept of student agency and its direct link to teacher agency. Lisa emphasises that educators play a crucial role in shaping learning experiences, and how a teacher’s sense of agency directly affects students’ ability to take ownership of their learning.
Teacher Agency as the Foundation for Student Agency
Lisa reflects on her teaching career in the 1980s when teachers had more freedom to design learning experiences tailored to their students’ needs. She stresses that teachers should view students as individuals developing identities—as readers, writers, scientists, or mathematicians—rather than just teaching specific subjects. However, she notes that increased educational pressures today risk undermining this sense of agency.
The Bigger Picture: Education and Democracy
Lisa connects student and teacher agency with democratic values, referencing Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which affirms children’s right to have a say in matters that affect them. She argues that for true student agency to thrive, teachers must feel empowered to make instructional decisions. However, some educational systems restrict this freedom, hindering creativity and students' development of agency.
Agency and Wellbeing: Lessons from the Pandemic
The conversation turns to the impact of agency on wellbeing. Reflecting on the pandemic, Lisa points out how restrictions led to feelings of helplessness, similar to how students feel in rigid, formulaic teaching environments. Teachers play a key role in creating spaces where students feel their voices matter.
Leadership’s Role and Small Changes
Lisa encourages teachers to introduce small changes, even in controlled settings, and suggests taking a professional stance with leadership to promote student agency. By focusing on student interests and co-constructing classroom routines, teachers can foster a learning culture where students become engaged, purposeful learners.
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Tune in to "Teacher's Tool Kit For Literacy," a free podcast where accomplished literacy educator Sharon Callen and her team share valuable insights and tips. With over 30 years of experience, they provide strategic learning solutions to empower teachers and leaders worldwide. Subscribe on your favourite platform for exclusive literacy learning content. Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube
Have questions or feedback? Reach out to us directly at [email protected].
The podcast currently has 137 episodes available.
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